Principles of Modern Composition (Continued) Author(s): G. H. Clutsam Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 59, No. 900 (Feb. 1, 1918), pp. 57-59 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/908620 Accessed: 05-03-2016 13:56 UTC
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Musical Times Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Musical Times.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 202.28.191.34 on Sat, 05 Mar 2016 13:56:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-FEBRUARY I, I918.
57
Weight.
The hanging of a peal of bells for ringing in full swing Date. Tons. Cwts.
Manchester Town Hall ... I877 5 oj so that each bell describes a complete circle for each
Sydney, N.S.W., Post Office 1891 4 18
blow of its clapper is an art in itself. The present-day
Preston Town Hall ...... 868 4 i6
ringer demands that every bell hung for change-
Worcester Cathedral ..... 868 4 10
ringing, up to three tons in weight and even heavier Bradford Town Hall ...... 873 4 7
Abberley Hall ...... 1885 3 i88 than this, shall be 'pealable '-i.e., able to be rung by
Chichester Cathedral .. ... I877 3 I3 one man in what is technically known in ' The Exercise'
Exeter Cathedral (tenor) ... I902 3 I2I
as a 'peal,' which means a set of changes, composed
Manchester Town Hall ... 877 3 II
and arranged scientifically according to certain Queenstown Cathedral ... 1916 3 72
Rugby School ...... I914 developed laws of this art, of a not less number than 3 4i
St. Paul's Cathedral . ... 878 3 2 5,ooo, rung continuously. The time occupied by the
Abberley Hall ...... 1885 3 Ii
performance of these peals varies according to the
Halifax Town Hall ...... I862 3 o
number and weight of the bells and the number of
CARILL ,ONS.
the changes rung, three hours being the usual
No. of f Weight.
Bells. Date. Tons. Cwts. period.
22 Bournville (with clavier) 1906 4 7i
To render it possible for ringers to achieve such
Loughborough (with clavier) I906 & 1912 3 IO 40
feats it is essential that the bells be hung in a strong
Queenstown (with clavier)... 42 I916 17 Ii
and massive framework, and that their fittings- Abberley Hall ...... 20 I884 20 15
i6 Worcester Cathedral ... i868 & 1875 17 0 i.e., their wheels, headstock, gudgeons, bearings,
Manchester Town Hall ... 21 I877 35 o clappers, and all the other accessories indispensable
19II 2 0 Appingedam (Holland) . 25
to a ringing bell, be 'well and truly' fitted. And for
Eindhoven (Holland) ... 25 I914 2 0
this purpose the bell-hanger requisitions the aid of all
Flushing (Holland) ... . I914 7 2 33
the recent developments of mechanical science with,
FANIOUS PEALS OF BELLS.
as will be seen, good result, for a peal of I8,027
St. Paul's Cathedral, London.
changes, occupying twelve hours and eighteen minutes,
Exeter Cathedral.
the longest ever accomplished, was rung by a band of
Worcester Cathedral.
ten picked men on the ring of ten bells of Loughborough Newcastle-on-Tyne Cathedral.
Truro Cathedral. Parish Church on Easter Monday, April 12, I909.
Dublin, St. Patrick's Cathedral.
With reference to the illustrations in the separate
Edinburgh, St. Mary's Cathedral.
supplement it may be explained that from time Christ Church Cathedral, N.Z.
Beverley Minster. immemorial bell-founders have identified their work
Beverley, St. Mary's.
by using distinctive marks, by means of which in many
Bristol, St. Mary Redcliffe.
instances it has been possible to fix the dates of ancient
Shrewsbury, St. Chad's Church.
bells prior to the period when the founder's name and
Waltham Abbey.
Manchester Town Hall. date were cast on their bells.
PRINCIPLES OF MODERN COMPOSITION.
BY G. H. CLUTSAM.
(Continued from January number, page 13.)
The inversion of elementary triads in no way affects use of the third in the bass was not so extensive as a
their character as chords. Under the polyphonic casual consideration might conceive, and the appear-
system, the variety obtained from a transposition of ance of the fifth as support was rare save in the
parts was mainly a matter of re-adjustment. The formation of manifest cadences. The following
fundamental position dominated the situation. The extract from a 'Stabat Mater' of Palestrina:
2nd Choir.
Ex. 52. 2nd Choir.
I I o ' X - r 8 t -- - - J
w - - :- I ' 1 r f \ -
is constructed under the elementary conditions we have been examining. In the following re-arrangement
of the harmonies:
Ex. 53. 2nd Choir.
^ - -<2 - -^ -^ - -J - - -^ .^ - ^ -^ - .^ -^ - :^ : -^ ------^ .- J - --- j
_c;I^~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ F- J t I ' T - - i , ! ? , &c.
This content downloaded from 202.28.191.34 on Sat, 05 Mar 2016 13:56:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-FEBRUARY I, 1918. 58
about as many thirds are introduced in support as the system, which will be considered in a later
passage will conveniently carry, and it is possible that article, the opposition of the ascending and descending
the inversion of the fifth at the entrance of the 2nd Choir scales in the arbitrary or so-called melodic minor
is not quite in accordance with polyphonic methods, scale accounts for many results in the work of Bach
but it is introduced to illustrate a possibility. The and his contemporaries that certain critical opinion
accidentals C~, BP, and G are not definitely considers as anticipating surreptitiously the harmonic
Palestrina's intention in either example, and can be scheme of the modern composer. They are, however,
retained or discarded according to taste. In the nothing of the sort. They arise from scale and not
harmonic system, the presence of the third in the bass harmonic considerations, but the principles that apply
affects the distribution of the chord much more to the limited number of chords at the disposal of the
significantly than under the older conditions when it old composers still obtain in respect of the greatly
was frequently doubled, generally from the necessity extended number of chord combinations available at
for keeping the various 'voices' moving freely and the present day, and a full appreciation of the
easily. In the next example, the interplay of inversion ingenuous methods of the past actually simplifies the
and suspension, presumed and prepared, can be advan- understanding of the complexities of the present. I
tageously examined: am strongly of the opinion that all material of value
acquired by a study of counterpoint, with its many
Ex. 54.
awkward rules and embarrassing obligations, can be
more easily and advantageously assimilated by a
modern student in the examination of its principles
from the harmonic standpoint. No sane teacher
should impose on his pupil at any stage of his career
a study of the various species of counterpoint.
In two parts it is stupid, in three it is a futile
'grind,' and as to four, especially in the fourth
species, I quite agree with Mr. Frederick Corder,
The second and fourth of the asterisked inversions
who has said-he referred, however, only to the
are the commonest forms with the fifth in the bass, i.e.,
fourth species -' Even when the most skilful
the dominant supporting any progression wherein it is
Mus. Doc. has evaded or triumphed over its obstacles,
common to each chord, major or minor, and suggesting
the result is simply miserable.' As to fugue, I
the Plagal cadence:
venture to assert that nobody wants it now and will
never be likely to want it in the future. On the
simple lines I am pursuing in these articles, any
Bt ir --- --I5?- student whose musical instinct counts for anything at
Ex. 54a. all, will, I trust, be placed in a position to think and
work considerably for himself, although my space will
only allow me at the moment to do little more than
suggest the method of procedure.
The technique of early musical composition was To return to passing-, or, better, auxiliary-notes. I
strongly reinforced, also probably originally by have selected a couple of passages from a Bach
singers when parts that progressed in intervals of Chorale which illustrate their effect fairly compre-
a third or fourth were allowed to fill the void with the hensively, based of course on the material I have
intervening notes of the scale. Passing-notes are a already subjected to consideration. On the outlined
natural outcome of the scale-sense, and their principal harmonies:
characteristic is the endowment of life and movement
to what otherwise might be a dull series of elementary
chords. The first relief in this direction was signalised
by the appreciation of suspensions, which in many
cases reproduced the effect of passing-notes, but the
distinction is easily to be discerned. The earlier
device itself introduced to the composer a number of
combinations that were ultimately destined to rank as
chord-entities, whose origin was feasibly explained by
the methods of the harmonic system. which also reveal a simple example of extended
With the use of passing-notes the tonality of distribution of the voices, the use of auxiliary notes
many passages was more strongly defined; they confers a feeling of life and movement that is a
were inevitably part and parcel of the particular considerable asset to the distinctive value of the
scale that was under treatment. In the minor passage:
E J i#4?s 6.t'
Ex. 56. -^ - , r", i 4 -
Under diatonic conditions, when two voices proceed in the most grateful position of the scale harmony
in similar directions and their essentials are linked up already given:
with passing-notes they move in thirds or sixths. E. 57 t - 1; I c
Three voices, under like circumstances, generally move ' .S- |
with pasg-n. E-5.
This content downloaded from 202.28.191.34 on Sat, 05 Mar 2016 13:56:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-FEBRUARY I, I918. 59
The position known as the 6-4-that is, the lower (only tonic, dominant, and sub-dominant triads, it
part of the preceding example transferred to the will be observed !) to Wagner's:
upper-can also be modestly utilised. The voices
iO G-j- Ix GI X I O! I
can also move in opposed directions with interesting
results. The conclusion of the chorale just examined,
based on the simple material:
Ex. 63.
so _~. ~ -e-
-. J ir o' 1i t
d J IF I -- R
__-
I , i , i 1 , I I
Ex. 58. --- *------_ -_ _ f-p-r-r^ "'"*""^
is a very short one, as there is nothing in the later
passage-a more varied and interesting one than that
4
of Bach-that could not have been easily accomplished
by the older master. Yet one realises, almost incom-
is treated by Bach thuswise:
prehensibly, that Ex. 63 is modern. It is the outcome
of a different type of feeling and temperament, recog-
-, Wo- -_ nisable even in four short bars.
--4 1
t 1 t ' , i
EX. 59. - .^ r __- - - -t
KRUPP AND 'PEACEFUL PENETRATION.
_!if~ V -iI
The Paris journal Le Courrier Musical (for January)
gives much prominence to an appeal a translation of
wherein also the movement of three voices is shown
which we give below:
on the lines I have indicated. The opposition of the
voices (alto and bass) arising from the use of auxiliary AN APPEAL.
notes as shown in the first half of the first bar of
An extraordinary piece of news reaches us from Switzerland,
Ex. 59, was a frequent occurrence at the hands of Bach.
as reported in our 'Letter from Geneva.' German music
Here is another brief example on two positions of
has found an unexpected 'sleeping partner' for its work of
the chord of C:
propaganda during the War, to wit, the Krupp factory !
Music and machine-gun ! Whilst the combined industry
of cannon and harmony strikes one as among the
phenomena of Pan-German invention, there is nevertheless
^--^J-= rr r --NI
W ' J s .___fs _ the manifestation here of a will and a method that might
Ex. 60. serve us as a guide. Our enemies are preparing in all
things-in art, in music, whose national destinies are more
especially dear to us-for the struggle to-morrow, the 4 ;p m1 r ,_
artistic, the vital fight that will come after the peace.
Twenty-four millions of marks were devoted by the
government of the empire to the purposes of musical propa- The facility with which the opposition of scales in
ganda during the first years of the European conflagration.
their bare form, or in thirds or sixths (compare for
Now it is the funds supplied by Krupp that are inundating
example the last Bach excerpt with the alto and bass
Switzerland, where the Weingartners, the Strausses and
parts of.the opposing sixths in the following example):
Nikisches were the commercial travellers of the Prince von
Billow. Holland, Sweden, and Spain are receiving offers of
orchestras, of virtuosi, of artists of every sort from beyond
the Rhine, duly furnished with programmes, materials, and
complimentary tickets. Max Reinhardt is 'spreading
Ex. 6I.
himself' with the same audacity that he displayed here [in
France] to make us welcome 'Sumurun.'
The danger is a flagrant one. While our French School
takes a justifiable pride in master-works ancient and modern,
while our artists are burning with the desire really to do
could be adapted sectionally or in completeness,
something, what are we doing to 'industrialise' our art
enabled a composer to have the freest of hands in his beyond the frontier ? The office of Under-Secretary of State
treatment of primitive harmonies by auxiliary-notes, for Fine Arts has been abolished. What is to become of
and the device of the suspension applied to these the organization for propaganda which he created, the
possibilities further enabled him easily to obtain effects development of which might have been carried on?
Is it clearly perceived what-side by side with its artistic that were as logical as they were vitalizing. A
glorification-the flourishing economic resources of musical study of Bach's chorales, recognising the basis I am
industry are capable of yielding ? advocating, is of great value and interest to the modern
Where is the French capital, where are the big firms, student, and far more advantageous and profitable
where is the noble initiative, whose patriotic dlan will than any endeavour to master the mechanism of the
victoriously counterbalance the influence of the factories of
composer's more elaborate output could ever be. For
Essen ?
one thing, they are an epitome of all that is finest,
harmonically, in the work that preceded him, and the
melodies within the simple limits of the scale are
RECIPROCITY The Sultan's private orchestra wonderfully expressive. After all, the step from
IN KULTUR. has travelled to Berlin to give
Bach's:
some concerts in aid of military
charities. It has been trained by a Turkish musician
?4! J
who studied in Berlin, and is playing German music,
and also some Turkish national airs, arranged for
Ex. 62. , European orchestras by an Austrian who lives at
Constantinople. The expenses of the journey are
7 7 * F rI r-~ - ~- ,r-- - being defrayed by a wealthy resident of :~~~~ .--
I I ' I &r I I Constantinople.
This content downloaded from 202.28.191.34 on Sat, 05 Mar 2016 13:56:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions